Tragedy with our Milo :(
 

I used to just be a lurker and reader but I have decided to join up and post for the first time because of something that's happened to my little Milo and because of a nasty thread I saw here where people were upset at somebody not keeping a puppy because the puppy wasn't exactly what she wanted.

A couple weeks ago, I placed an ad online asking for a small dog of any breed to accompany our Yorkie and be a buddy to him. I got a response that told me she had a little male Yorkie that she'd sell me for 200 dollars without papers and 600 dollars with the papers. She basically saw my posting, thought he'd be great with another friend, and wanted to discourage breeding by charging so much more for the papers. I never had any intention of breeding. How could I?? I was going to have 2 males. So this really seemed like it was going to work out excellently.

We met them at a neutral location, and I picked Milo up. He was absolutely gorgeous. The first thing we noticed was that he didn't like to be held. So on the drive back, he was in the back seat the whole time. When we got home though, he was near impossible to get into our house. He actually BIT me when I tried to reach for him!

I called up this lady right away and tried to figure out what could cause this. Then she offered up a piece of advice that I probably should have been made aware of earlier: she had gotten him out of a puppy mill situation (or so she thinks). He had basically had no socialization at all prior to going to this lady. She was selling him to us because she had fallen ill and didn't have much time for him anymore.

Over the next week or so, he got a lot better. He still didn't like to spend a lot of time with people, but he wasn't hostile anymore. Honestly, I'd thought about taking him back and just getting a refund because I feel that I should have been made aware of how timid he is and his background, but I didn't want to give up. I felt I owed him more than that. I was his 3rd owner in his 9 months of life.

Eventually, I felt comfortable taking him outside to go potty without a leash on. Then, a couple of days ago, when I was taking him out he took off. Me calling him did absolutely no good...he stopped a couple of times to look back and that was it. I didn't have shoes on and couldn't run after him without them, so I had to go back inside and run upstairs to get them quickly so I could go out and run after him. When I got back outside, I didn't see him right away. I ran down in the direction he was running though and eventually I found out what'd happened to him. He'd ran into traffic and gotten hit by a car. I'd never dealt with a dog that was so skittish and scared before and so liable to run. I'd never had any experience with a "puppy mill" dog.

I guess the moral of the story was that I wanted to help save a dog and ended up doing a disservice. I don't feel personally responsible, but I also didn't get what was represented to me. For what it's worth, I also haven't gotten the shot records I was promised to be mailed to me. I guess it doesn't matter now. This just goes to show that perhaps people who feel that, when they get a dog who maybe has issues that they weren't aware of and perhaps can't deal with, it's a good idea to re-home the dog or try to give it back aren't bad people.

Here's a picture if anybody wanted to see it.

Welcome to YT. I am so sorry about your little Milo.

A dog that spent his life in a puppymill has no consept of being outside his cage. It's quite normal to be petrified let alone skittish. This dog should never have gone to a home. He should have been surrendered to a rescue with experience in dealing with puppymill rescues. There he would have been rehabilitated the best he could be and then hopefully ready for his forever home. It's tragic that this little guy ended up as he has. Elaine

I'm so sorry for your loss. You did the best you could with little Milo.....he had a loving home while he was with you!!

I'm so sorry to hear what happened to Milo...it is so sad that he had to live his short life terrified.
~~HUGS~~

I am so sorry about your sweet Milo. He was very lucky to have such a warm and loving mom even if you didn't get to have him as long as you'd hoped.

I'm so sorry this happened. Just curious why off leash?:animal-pa

Of course. What kills me is that she told me that she picked him from the breeder because he looked to be the most timid. I applaud her trying to do a great thing and all, but I can't understand why she didn't tell me this upfront.

RIP dear Milo. I am so sorry that happend to you. What an awful ordeal to go through. That woman who sold him to you should of been forthcoming to you so that you could of made a choice or rehomed him to an experienced rescue person. I feel badly that Milo"s previous owner only cared about the "mighty" dollar. That little guy was lucky to have you in his short life, thankfully he did experience love with you. Thankyou for sharing the picture.My heart is heavy for you & your yorkie that you do have is very lucky to have you for a Mom and who sadly lost his fleeting buddy.

He had improved a lot. I guess I was fooled.

He was a real cutie :( Rip Milo. I'm sorry for your loss but i'm glad you decided to open up and post here on YT. It's not all bad here and I'm certain you would like it here if you give us a chance.

I'm sure I will, I just wanted to say that people aren't terrible dog owners if they feel they may not be able to care for a dog that may be different than what they expected. If i'd have given up right away, it's likely he'd still be with us.

Thank you for opening your heart to us. I hope we'll deal with it gently.:)

I'm so sorry about little Milo. Accidents happen and they are not necessarily due to neglect. Sometimes we have the best intentions and do the thing we think is right and it doesn't turn out the way we intended. My Tinkerbelle always runs away off leash, so I don't let her off! But you didn't know Milo would run.

I hope you will find a furbaby to love again soon.

I'm so sorry to hear about Milo
((((((((hugs))))))))))

so sorry for you & a valuable lesson for others

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear this story. Thank you for coming forward with your story about Milo. I know it was probably hard for you to do.

I'm sorry about Milo :(

Lacy is so stubborn and fast..I never trust her off leash. She has gotten away from me a couple times before when she was younger and I was lucky to have caught her.

The thread that you saw earlier was quite a complicated situation...there was a lot more behind that than what you saw in that one thread.

I hope you stick around and post more...welcome to YT!

One of our yorkies is an ex mill dog. He was free only a month when we adopted him. He was scared and somewhat fearful of things because he lived in a damn box. Came out of a mill with four hundred plus dogs if you can even imagine. He has had to learn everything that a puppy would learn as time went by. He has come a long way but it has taken alot of time and patience. My reward is looking over at him right now and he's curled up in his snuggle bed snoring away. Because of how they have to try to survive mill dogs will almost always carry some type of behavioral problems which they will never get over. It fades away somewhat but a situation can bring it back. He is so bonded with me that he runs through the house to find me just to know I'm there. It's kinda sad. God willing my husband and I will adopt another mill dog someday. For me it's been one of the most rewarding things I've done. The woman you got him from should have been up front and honest so you would have had an idea what you were in for. I'm sorry for what you have been through. RIP Milo:animal-pa

Welcome to YT and I am sorry to read your post. Elaine is correct and it would have made his life easier if he was raised by a rescue group. I have been able to watch the progress of Aspen, puppy mill breeder, rescued by United Yorkie Rescue, fostered by a wonderful women who already had four AKC Yorkies. Aspen was terrified of her husband for a long time, difficult to potty train due to being in a wire pen for all of her life. However, today (less than one year later)..she is a member (adopted by her foster Mom and family), potty trained and a social girl.

You had no way of knowing about Milo when you adopted him, but the lady who sold him did and shame on her. Rehoming doesn't always solve the problem, as much as rescue groups and then adopted after they have been socialized.

Warmly, Deborah

Stay with us, we can learn from each other and thank you for your honesty. Warmly, Deborah

Welcome To Yt And Im Sorry You Had Such An Experience May He Rest Now .. I Just Wish Things Could Have Been Better And He Would Have Opened Up To You .. You Can Tell All You Wanted To Do Was Love Him And Be Loved In Return... Everything Happens For A Reason ... Please Dont Feel Guilty It Is Not Your Fault

Hugs

I am so sorry to hear about Milo.
At least in his short life with you
he found love and affection.

Blessings to you.
Michele

I am sorry about Milo- I do not think the mistake was YOURS though- i think it was made by the people who knew how he was like. You were the best thing he had in his life- Keep that in your heart! and I think you have told us all a very important story- that can help others!

I am so sorry for your loss. And I'm very happy that people are being so considerate of Milo's special needs and your situation.

If I understand you correctly, you say that perhaps Milo might still have been with us if you would have given him up sooner.

If you feel that way, who knows? Maybe that's true. But let me add this.... If you hadn't taken Milo in even after figuring out that he had special needs (or returned him), then someone less caring would have ended up with him. Someone with no patience who would have either abused him, dumped him, or pawned him off on someone else equally as unequipped to handle him. Yes, it's a tragedy, but Milo had a great end of him life being loved. You made the best decisions that you were equipped to make at that time. Thank you for giving Milo a great home....

My mom said if I dont have anything nice to say dont say anything at all. Sorry but this kinda angers me, how long were you with this dog?

So sorry to hear what happened to you and to milo. I took in a girl years ago, she was not from a puppy mill but one a breeder had taken away from the owners.. I light weight latex toys that she was afraid of. she settled in very good with our love and attention.. but then we moved a few years later.. she had a nervous breakdown. Yes a nervous breakdown.. must have thought we were leaving her behind or just the move upset her.. her breakdown was so bad, she almost died.. the vet and myself worked on her for two hours.. she was then on nerve pills twice a day for 5 years. But she lived a very long life and the last of her life she refused the nerve pills..

(((((Hug to you)))) for the time you took for Milo and giving him a home.

at an earlier post you asked about a boarding house for your dog, but it was after this one? i dont get that

My Condolences
 

:angelyork I'm so sorry to hear about little Milo. It sounds like you loved him the way he should have been loved from the beginning. The lady who sold him set him up for failure by not being forward about his terrible past. No one can criticize you for this unfortunate outcome because you loved him despite his issues. There aren't a lot of people who would be willing to do that. I applaud your efforts and big heart.
:rbyorkie: